A Canadian band, The Tragically Hip, has sued a brewer for the
use of a beer name that mimics the title of one of the band's
popular songs.
Mill Street Brewery, a brand owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev (the
world's largest brewer), has a beer branded as "100th
Meridian Organic Amber Lager" .
This sounds familiar to fans of the The Hip, who will recall
rockin' out to the opening power chords of the 1992 hit
entitled "At The Hundredth Meridian" from
the Fully Completely album.
Does the name of a song from the 1990s take on the attributes of
a trademark? Does the use of song title create a false association
with the band, such that the band's trademark rights are
infringed? What if the name of the song ( "At The
Hundredth Meridian" ) is not identical to the beer name
("100th Meridian")? Does it make a difference if other
brewers have given a nod to The Hip (Fully Completely IPA from
Phillips Brewing, Ahead by a Century IPA, Tragically Hopped Double
IPA, what's with
